Spain's Socialist Party leader Pedro Sanchez has become the country's new prime minister after Mariano Rajoy lost a vote of no-confidence relating to a corruption scandal. Rajoy is the first prime minister in modern Spanish history to be defeated through a motion of no-confidence. Sanchez is expected to take office by Monday, and said he will try to govern until the end of the parliamentary term in mid 2020. Al Goodman reports.  

A political gamble that paid off. Spain's Socialist Party leader, Pedro Sanchez, is the nation's new Prime Minister. After parliament approved his motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who crossed the aisle to bid farewell. Sanchez stitched together a mainly leftist majority to oust Rajoy, whose conservative party was rocked by a court sentence last week for corruption, prompting the debate of no confidence.

PEDRO SANCHEZ SPAIN'S NEW PRIME MINISTER "I'll work with determination to transform and modernize our country, which the Socialist Party has always done when governing, and to take care of urgent social needs."

But Rajoy's departure from politics did not come easy. In power for six years, he insisted there were just isolated cases of corruption. But the court convicted dozens of former officials of taking bribes in exchange for granting lucrative public contracts. The court said the party itself benefited from the scheme and they questioned Rajoy's witness testimony during the trial when he claimed to know nothing about it.

This political analyst says the corruption issue united widely diverse parties against Rajoy.

ABLO SIMON POLITICAL SCIENTIST "Now, being a party involved in corruption problems will pay a price and it will mean, at the end of the day, losing the power as well."

Al GOODMAN MADRID, SPAIN "It's the first vote of no confidence that succeeded in toppling a prime minister in 40 years of Spanish democracy. An achievement in itself, but many politicians here say the hard work really begins now."

Sanchez's Socialist Party has just 84 seats in the fragmented 350-seat parliament. His minority government will start out even more fragile than Rajoy's minority government. And Sanchez has had to fight leadership battles within his own party. These uncertainties have made financial markets jittery in southern Europe, where Italy has also had political turmoil.

But this Socialist Party leader says Sanchez is up to the challenge.

MARGARITA ROBLES SPANISH SOCIALIST PARTY "Of course, it will be difficult and we are aware of the situation. But we think it's the moment of the dialogue and when you dialogue here in the parliament you can get a lot of things."

Sanchez promises dialogue with separatist leaders who want Catalonia, the region around Barcelona, to be an independent country. He's got pressure from rival parties on his left and on his right. Their leaders also want the prime minister's job.

But Sanchez says he'll try to serve for two years, till the end of the parliamentary term. As soon as he's sworn in as prime minister. Al Goodman, CGTN, Madrid.